Basically, all the books I can’t shut up about.
So many good books, so little time to review them all individually so without further ado here’s a wrap on all the books I have read and loved in the past three months. For this chunk of the year I decided to focus on mood and curate a TBR for each month to check off according to what I was wanting to read. As we moved into fall I was in more of an SFF mood but have started reading some more seasonally appropriate books on my TBR. Several of the books here will be reviewed for the first time, but many will be in my blurb review format. This post introduces: a series that has become my new obsession, an upcoming historical romance, a stunning series finale, and a new favorite author. Happy reading!
My Recent Favorites
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
Clark’s alternate 1912 Cairo, where djinn roam the streets and magic is a daily reality is my new favorite world to get lost in. Fatma el-Sha’arawi, an agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, is tasked with uncovering just who murdered the members of a secret brotherhood but discovers a plot that goes far deeper. This is my first P. Djèlí Clark and boy did it not disappoint. Not only is this a fantastic speculative debut, but it has a deep center of questioning that I really appreciated. The twists in this are so freaking good and Fatma and Siti are the cutest couple and badass team up EVER. Read for an amazing world, historical commentary, and sapphics uncovering a mystery together.
Trigger warnings: blood, violence, racism, slavery
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The Duchess by Sophie Jordan
Sophie Jordan returns to her Scandalous Ladies of London series. Valencia, a recently widowed dowager, teams up with the new heir to usher his unruly sisters into London society but finds her past confronting her newfound connections. Like the previous installment, The Duchess brings a fresh take on historical romance tropes while staying true to the realities of marriage and life for women in this period. It’s deeply satisfying to see Valencia work to secure the life she wants after years of abuse and suffering (and VERY entertaining at certain points). I have been waiting years for a historical series focused on women who didn’t get their happily ever after the first time around and it is here.
Trigger warnings: misogyny, sexual harassment, abuse
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The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
An unthinkable murder looms large in an empire beset by leviathans, strange contagions, and corruption blooming at its heart. Assistant to a brilliant investigator, and magically altered to help her solve the crime, Dinios Kol is called in to lend his eyes to solving the murder in question. Undeniably humorous and brilliant in its craft, The Tainted Cup is a bold new murder mystery that reinvigorates the classic investigative pairing with a plot almost serpentine in the way that it constantly twists and turns back upon itself in an act of reinvention. Robert Jackson Bennett has constructed a stellar fantasy world alongside an inventive magic system. This is an unpredictable, but nevertheless brilliant mystery equipped with a duo to rival Watson and Holmes. The kind of story to seep in and take root in the most unexpected places.
Trigger warnings: body horror, blood, murder, violence
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The Will of the Many by James Islington
In The Will of the Many, Islington constructs a flawed world built on the backs of the many to benefit the few, centering on the one person who could expose a crack in the marble and bring down an entire empire. Orphan Vin Telimus is an heir to a kingdom overtaken by the very empire he now serves. Hiding in plain sight, resisting ceding his will to the hierarchy, Vin is taken in by an unlikely ally who will give him a way out if he infiltrates the academy training the next generation of upper citizens to figure out what is going on on the academy grounds. This book juggles so many different elements and executes them all flawlessly. Complete with a mystery, an inventive societal system, and a striking political landscape. I can’t believe I waited so long to read this absolute masterpiece and I cannot wait to continue the series.
Trigger warnings: blood, violence, gore, death, murder, body horror
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Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo
The eternal question: did I finish this book or did it finish me? The Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo is for sure one of my favorite novella series of the past few years, and every addition has become my new obsession. Mammoths at the Gates is no different. After the death of their mentor, Cleric Chih returns to the abbey to mourn the loss and lay them to rest with the rest of their community. Stories past and present merge as Chi and others mourn this loss and collectively grieve. Vo conceptualizes the diverse experiences with grief and memory and pays homage to the power of storytelling. Definitely teared up a little bit while reading this and can’t wait for more from this series.
Trigger warnings: death, grief, physical abuse (mentioned)
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The Fractured Dark by Megan O’Keefe
If you take nothing else from the books I am recommending here it is: read this series. Altered Carbon meets the Expanse in this inventive and action-packed interplanetary adventure. Megan O’Keefe takes her Devoured Worlds series to the next level with a mind-bending addition that tests already fragile alliances and humanity’s uncertain future. Naira and Tarquin confront deep-rooted power structures, enemies old and new, and a biological threat able to evolve in ways they never could have thought possible. Ingeniously layered with a deep sense of humanity at its core, O’Keefe questions identity, future frontiers, and families found. You won’t expect the twists and you will desperately wish you’d read this sooner.
Trigger warnings: suicide, blood, violence, emotional abuse
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The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
The Silent Companions is an eerie Victorian gothic novel that kept me up into the wee hours of the night, both because of a desire to reach its end, and the unsettling feeling it placed upon me. I stumbled upon Laura Purcell’s books at Waterstones back in March and took a chance on The Silent Companions for its gorgeous cover and intriguing premise. A widow is sent to her late husband’s family estate for the remainder of her pregnancy but is left to uncover the strange secrets of this ancestral home and its horrific legacy. Safe to say that judging books by their covers is good because I just loved this one. It’s gothic, spooky, and perfect. This book will have you looking into dark corners while coming to terms with the most ingenious twist!
Trigger warnings: blood, death, murder, poisoning, forced institutionalization
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Masters Of Death by Olivie Blake
So you’re a vampire real estate agent trying to sell your latest house, but it’s haunted by the ghost of its former occupant. And the only way to help the ghost move on is to contact a medium who just so happens to be the Godson of Death? Yes, this book is as chaotic as its premise, with a slow build and a snarky cast of characters who must team up to master death himself. Masters of Death is the kind of book that feels more rewarding the further you wade into it. I had no idea how so many of these moving pieces would come together, but Olivie Blake makes it all work. I love its patchwork method of narrative and break from linear storytelling. Masters of Death has all the trappings of a morbid and folkloric bedtime story as vamps, reapers, ghosts, and gods must team up for good or for ill. It’s easily the most unexpected and chaotic fantasy book I have read in ages.
Trigger warnings: murder, death, addiction
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Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
Two Twisted Crowns, the expansive and completely life-changing conclusion to the Shepherd King Duology is here and it is quite possibly the best sequel I’ve read all year. Maintaining her sensational gothic atmosphere and gutting prose, Gillig adds several new points of view and expands her focus to those left behind in the aftermath of the events from book one. Characters Elm and Ione pull focus and what emerges is a well-rounded conclusion that tests the bonds of family, magic, and the world that these characters hold dear. We get more lore with the cards and the Shepherd King as Elsbeth is trapped by the Nightmare, which I loved. Two Twisted Crowns is certainly an ambitious sequel, but altogether romantic and action-packed. Rachel Gillig is definitely a new favorite author and I cannot wait to reread this series down the line.
Trigger warnings: blood, death, violence, murder, torture
Literaryrobin 